Window cornice box facia



July 14, 1959 A. J. TOTl wmnow comma BOX FACIA Filed Feb. 20, 1956 INVENTOR.

ANDREW a/- T077 Un ted States PatentO" 2,894,571 WINDOW CORNICE BOX FAOIA Andrew I. Toti, Modesto, Calif.

Application February 20, 1956, Serial No. 566,574 8 Claims. (Cl. 160-38) This invention relates to cornice boxes or overhead facia board structure as used to conceal the suspension mechanism ofdrapes and Venetian blinds, particularly the latter, and the principal object of my invention is to provide a simple supporting structure with an easily applied outer face without req'uiring'special tools and which match the Venetian blinds which may be suspended from the box or from any structure concealed by the box.

' The present invention constitutes improvements over my parent copending patent application filed under Serial 526,873, August 8, 1955, now Patent No. 2,837,150, issued June3, 1958, entitled Window Cornice Box, and as will appear in the following description and accompanying'drawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view looking downwardly at an angle at a portion of a cornice box with the near end broken away, showing my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section of Fig. 1 as seen along the line 22 thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear elevation of a portion of Fig. 1 or as seen from the right of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the box showing a modification in attachment of the vertically corrugated facia foundation sheet to the head-board or coverplate.

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section of Fig. 4 as seen from the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Before describing the drawings in detail it may contribute to an easier understanding of the present improvements to explain that instead of using a plain vertical fiat foundation board or plate against which the finished facia strips are attached as shown in my copending application-as one of the improvements, I herein employ a horizontally extending vertically corrugated foundation sheet 1 which is die pressed or stamped With vertical outwardly convexed corrugations each corresponding in size and shape to receive and locate respectively similarly shaped short slat sections 3 of thin flexible stiff material (preferably made from conventional Venetian blind slat material which is of correct width, transversely arched, surface painted, proper stiffness and flexibility).

This corrugated foundation sheet is generally designated 1 in the drawings and is preferably made of flexible sheet metal much more substantial than the facia sections 3 which it carries (though may be of equivalent plastic), and the sheet is of a width corresponding substantially to the height of the f-acia desired, and is preferably stamped or otherwise formed with means adapted to facilitate securing it to a head board 2 and to definitely locate and fasten the prepainted or otherwise finished blind slat sections 3 in place.

An important feature of the corrugated sheet 1 is that the vertical lines 4 defining the corrugations are scored and/ or weakened by a row of small holes 5 which serve 2,894,571 Patented July 14, 1959 two purposes, 1st,- provide flexibility for rolling up of the sheet in long lengths for shipment and storage without distoring the arched curves 3 of the corrugations, or where passing around curved end boxes at A in Fig. 1, and also provide for square corner bends, as well as providing for ease of breaking olf the sheet along any desired row of holes by simply bending the sheet back and forth along any line of holes to break (as indicated at 5' in Fig. 3) without the use of shears to distort the metal. I

. To further protect the arched curves 3 of the corrugated sections from distortion when rolling the sheets,

at least one stiffening indentation 6 is preferably stamped to project rearwardly from the concave side of each section a distance about equal to the depth of the concave side. Also stamped out of the sections are attaching wings 7 with nail holes 8 for nailing the sheet 1 at intervals to the head board 2, and also supporting and aligning tongues 9 adapted to be pushed rearwardly at right angles .under the head board and nailed thereto through holes 10.

Also stamped rearward from the sections is a small strap loop 11. This loop is spaced rearwardly sufliciently to receive the flat end 12 of a stiff right-angle bracket 13 provided with a hole for a nail or screw 14 as shown in Fig. 2. Such brackets need only be used at intervals on the longer cornice boxes. These loops 11 cooperate with the devices to support the outwardly arched or corrugated sections of the foundation sheet 1 from collapsing when the foundation sheet is rolled up in shipping.

Besides the above features the corrugated sections of sheet 1 are each provided with a lip 15 at their upper ends bent back slightly as best indicated in Fig. 2 over which the upper end of the slat sections 3 are hooked, each such slat section being provided with a rearwardly projecting upper marginal bend-over tab 16 for this purpose.

The arched Vertical sections of the slats 3 are preferably rounded on their lower ends, to match the similarly rounded ends of the corrugated sheet 1 sections 3 and the slat sections 3 are preferably flanged rearwardly both at the upper and lower ends respectivelyas at 17 and 18, the latter flange being slightly hooked as .indicated in Fig. 2 to hook the under edge of the corrugated lower edge ,1 of sheet 1 (the slat section 3 in this view being shown detached and spaced slightly forward of the sheet 1 to make it clear). After booking the slat section to the under edge 1 of the corrugated sheet, the upper flanged end 17 of the section is pushed over the upper edge of the strip tightly and the rearwardly extending tab 16 is bent down over the lip 15 with the fingers to lock the slat section securely in proper posit-ion with concave and convex sides nested.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the headboard is indicated at 2 and the corrugated foundation sheet at 19 with its vertical corrugations extending convexly outward as at 3" corresponding to the showing of Fig. 1 except that the stamped out features may be omitted, though item 6 is desirable, and the upper and lower edges of the sheet are rearwardly flanged, the upper one as shown at 20 to engage over the top of the headboard 2' and secured thereto by small nails through holes 21 provided, and the lower one rearwardly hooked as at 22 to engage under the lower end 23 of a series of right angle supporting brackets 24 secured to the underside of the head-board 2' as indicated at 25. Both the upper and lower flanges 20 and 22 are preferably open notched at the scored or corrugation lines 24 as shown at 26 to permit rolling up of the corrugated sheet 19 as may be done with strip 1.

Note, the importance of making the vertical facia slat sections 3 from conventional Venetian blind slat material is because this matereial is a standard market product supplied of suitable width bands of great length in rolls, already transversely arched, correct thickness, stiffness and flexibility and already painted or enameled and since the facia boxes are always wanted to match the Venetian blinds with which they are to be used, the same slat material is used both for the blind slats as well as for the shorter vertical facia slat sections 3- and if other material were used from which to make the facia section 3, they would also have to be separately painted to match, and this would double the cost of the article, as each job would require separate treatment, as matching tints and texture would be a time and labor consuming operation, all easily avoided as above expl-ained, and which was the main reason for devising the novel structure of my invention.

Having thus described my improved construction in a cornice box of the character set out and the manner of connecting its associated parts, what I claim is:

1. In a window cornice box extending horizontally when in place, an elongated flexible transversely rollable facia foundation sheet extending horizontally and forming the vertical front normally concealed wall and ends of the box, said sheet formed with a series of vertical corrugations across the sheet, said corrugations taking the form of outwardly transversely arched convex portions meeting at their vertical junctures along weakened scored lines formed transversely in said sheet to facilitate rolling and bending the sheet transversely without deforming the arched portions.

2. In a Window cornice box extending horizontally when in place, an elongated flexible transversely rollable facia foundation sheet extending horizontally and forming the vertical front normally concealed wall and ends of the box, said sheet formed with a series of vertical corrugations across the sheet, said corrugations taking the form of outwardly transversely arched convex portions meeting at their vertical junctures along weakened perforated lines formed transversely in said sheet to facilitate rolling and bending the sheet transversely without deforming the arched portions.

3. In a window cornice box, an elongated flexible facia foundation sheet extending horizontally and forming the vertical front normally concealed wall and ends of the box, said sheet formed with a series of vertical corrugations across the sheet, said corrugations taking the form of outwardly transversely arched convex portions meeting at their vertical junctures along weakened scored lines formed transversely in said sheet to facilitate rolling and bending the sheet transversely without deforming the arched portions, and a series of thin outer facia elements arranged in edgewise substantially abutting relation completely covering said foundation sheet, each element taking the form of a thin slat of a length substantially equal to the height of said foundation sheet and permanently arched transversely to nest against one of the similarly arched corrugations of the, foundation sheet so as to be supported thereagainst, and means locking said facia elements in place.

4. In combination with a structure as set out in claim 3 the means locking said facia elements in nested relation to the arched portions of the foundation sheet comprising rearwardly extending flanges formed on the opposite ends only of each of said elements arranged to hook over the opposite edges of the sheet respectively.

5. In combination with the structure as set. out in claim 3 the means locking said facia elements in nested relation to the arched portions of the foundation sheet comprising rearwardly extending flanges formed on the opposite ends only of each of said elements arranged to hook over the opposite edges of the sheet respectively, and a tab at one end of each element extending beyond the flange adapted for bending inward of said element.

6. In combination with a structure as set out in claim 3 the lower ends only of each of said facia elements being rounded to form when in place a series of scollops, and said foundation sheet being similarily scolloped at its, lower edge to support the rounded ends of said elements.

7. In a facia foundation sheet as set out in claim 1, supporting members formed in the concave sides of the. outwardly arched corrugations extending rearwardly suf" ficiently to support them against collapsing when the sheet is rolled up with said concave sides facing inwardly.

8. In a structure as set out in claim 3 said foundation sheet provided with died-out members for respectively aligning with and attaching to a head-board and engaging with supporting brackets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,893,659 Stack Jan. 10, 1933 2,595,016 Spector Apr. 29, 1952 2,677,158 Mayer May 4, 1954 2,706,521 Nelson Apr. 19, 1955 2,806,524 Klenz Sept. 17, 19:57 

